Canada Betting Sites

The absolute most important criteria for us is security. It's job number one for any online betting site - and especially those that cater to Canadian players. Do these sites take the security of your personal information, your bets and your money seriously? Do they work hard and with expertise to keep all that stuff safe? I mean, we all have our passwords and our privacy, but that doesn't make us feel safe. Beyond that, do they have a dedicated team that's constantly working to keep the site secure with better and better fortifications?

If you didn't know better, you'd think we were talking about defending against some kind of wartime attack. Well, that's kind of true. No, we're not afraid that some disgruntled group is going to invade our online headquarters, but there are a lot of attacks on Internet sites every day. And a lot of the time, these hacks are directed at places where the hackers know there's a lot of money (online sportsbooks).

Now, this is not meant to give you nightmares about playing online or ever using a computer again. If you're using a reputable online betting site, they're going to be on top of these threats and way ahead of them. That's what we're looking for. Are they proactively getting out in front of any kind of threat to make sure you're safe? If the answer is yes, great. If the answer is anything but yes, big red X from us for that site.

You shouldn't have to worry about your safety or the security of your money and personal information when you bet on the Internet. Yes, there are bad guys out there, but an online betting site can dedicate sufficient resources to effectively eliminate any real threats to you.

The amazing thing about the Canadian gaming market is that it is highly regulated. The regulation requires gaming sites to obtain certain licenses before they can legally operate. While the regulation certainly adds work and a few headaches for the site owners, the result is a much safer and more predictable experience for the gamblers. In a nutshell, betting sites in Canada are forced to follow a much safer "code of conduct". The code makes it clear what the sites can and can't do. And the code is enforced.

This is a big plus for Canadian bettors or those playing on sites that service the Canadian marketplace.

Next, we look at the site's ease of navigation and use. Can you complete all of your desired tasks without resorting to computer-in-the-pool threats? Can you place your bets without a looming sense of disabling misclicks and/or errors? Are the different types of bets, sports and games well organized or does it look like a jumbled mess?

When we look at potential Canada betting sites to recommend, we ask ourselves all kinds of questions. We want a site that knows what punters want and delivers it in a clean, easy to use package. Is that too much to ask? Obviously, some of the sites we've reviewed have a hard time doing that, which is why you won't find them on our recommended list.

When we review online betting sites, one of the things we look for most is how much they cover the different sports, leagues and bet types that they offer. And offering a lot of different types of action is definitely something we encourage, as the appeal of an online sportsbook is often directly proportional to the amount of different types of action it offers. Oddly enough, some people seem to think that all sportsbooks offer the same things. That's far from the case.

We look for more when recommending a Canadian sportsbook. But that's only because we're trying to find the solution that will please the most people. What we recommend is that you make sure the bookmaker you're considering offers the types of bets you want to place on the sport or league you like to bet on. That's a big, long way of saying it: Make sure a site allows you to bet on what you want to bet on. If they don't have action on the sport or league you want to bet on, find another site.

Unless you prefer to bet on things that are pretty far out there, the Canada betting sites we've recommended at the top of this guide should serve your needs quite well. They'll certainly have you covered when it comes to betting on the NHL, baseball, football and a whole host of other "core" sports. That said, it's still a good idea to take just a few seconds to make sure that the site you're going with actually offers what you want to bet on before you go ahead and create an account and make a deposit.

Hooray for free items! Yes, we get pretty excited when we are given a free item. Witness the pandemonium that ensues when we are treated to donuts in the break room, for example. But let's stay focused on the subject of this article. When we examine Internet betting sites, one area we scrutinize is the bonus promotions they offer to entice potential bettors. Sites can use any number of methods, such as deposit bonuses or promotional free bets, to try to get bettors to sign up with them instead of their competitors.

The great thing about betting on the Internet is that you can start reaping the rewards much sooner than you can at land-based venues. And usually, these rewards are much more lavish than any you'd collect at a land-based casino.

Bonus seekers, beware! We discussed above how your searches can affect your score. If you're a big hunter, it's even more important to be aware of this, because you could trigger the search partner algorithm that gives 100,000 points to the next 1,000 people. Bonus hunting can also give you a negative look on your account when it comes time for the review committee to decide your fate.

Betting on sports should involve the challenging task of selecting the actual outcomes on which to place a bet. It should not involve the equally important but far more mundane tasks of loading money onto a betting site or withdrawing your winnings. The focus should be on picking winners, not on picking safe, reliable, easy-to-use betting sites.

Here's the deal. We're not asking for much here. We're just asking for two things. The first is that we be provided with some quality options that allow us to quickly (and free of charge) deposit our money into our betting account. The second is that we be provided with some quality options that allow us to withdraw our winnings quickly and reliably. We don't think that's too much to ask, and that's why we don't mess around with sportsbooks or betting sites that don't deliver.

One of the most important components of a list of recommendations and rankings is how often it is updated. A ranking list is virtually worthless if it is not kept up to date. This is especially true in the online gaming world, where the quality of sites and sportsbooks can change overnight.

Of course, some excellent betting sites do an incredible job of staying at the top (like many of the Canada betting sites we recommended above). But the industry has a strong tendency to change. New sites will come in and offer incredible products and services, while some of the leaders will get complacent and lazy and start to fall.

To accommodate these changes, we work diligently to maintain an up-to-date list of recommendations. When we discover a new site that deserves your attention, we add it to the list. Conversely, no bookmaker on the list is safe. If a site begins to mistreat its customers or is just plain lazy, it will find itself off the list in no time at all. By the way, some of these sites should be avoided because of their untrustworthy practices.